New labor laws were approved by Portugal’s parliament to promote a healthier work-life balance for remote workers.
Portugal’s ruling Socialist Party said the new rules were a response to the drastic increase of citizens becoming work-from-home employees.
Under the new rules, employers could face penalties for contacting workers outside of office hours. Companies will also have to help pay for expenses incurred by remote working, such as bigger electricity and internet bills. The new rules will only affect companies with more than 10 employees.
Perhaps most importantly the new legislation forbids employers from monitoring their employees while they work at home. The regulations bring new penalties for companies that disturb the privacy of staff or their families!
Companies not complying with the rules will be liable for fines.
According to the AP, Portuguese lawmakers voted down a measure that would have granted workers the right to turn off professional communication systems when off work. So you have to keep your work phone ‘on’ after work hours are over, but if you’re employer contacts you they could be penalized by the government.
It’s curious to think what American politicians might think about legislation like this. One would imagine the Bernies and AOC’s would be in favor, and although conservatives are supposed to be in favor of ‘personal privacy’ we imagine their love for corporations and hate for ‘government interference’ would prevent them from adopting laws like this.
I wish we had more concrete facts about the legislation, but it’s written in Portuguese, and that’s all the AP reported on.
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